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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743122">Nighttimes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talvenhenki/pseuds/Talvenhenki'>Talvenhenki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life with Hugo the Dog [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Musketeers (2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, M/M, Mutism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:15:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24743122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talvenhenki/pseuds/Talvenhenki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a disastrous shooting at a ski centre, Aramis is spiraling. For the time being, he and Porthos live with Athos, who wants to find a suitable treatment for Aramis and soon a four-legged friend joins the mismatched family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aramis | René d'Herblay &amp; Athos | Comte de la Fère &amp; Porthos du Vallon, Aramis | René d'Herblay/Porthos du Vallon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Life with Hugo the Dog [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945549</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>44</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don't even know where the idea for this fic came. It certainly was interesting to write a character who doesn't speak at all, so who knows, maybe I'll make a series out of this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was happening again. Athos had heard a soft thud and gone to investigate, only to find Aramis’ bed in the guest bedroom empty. Porthos was sleeping soundly on his side of the bed, which meant that Aramis had not had a nightmare. It meant that Aramis hadn’t slept at all, which was becoming the rule instead of the exception. Athos sighed and made his way into the living room to look for Aramis. The room was empty, and the balcony door was open like it had been so many nights before.</p><p>Aramis was sitting on the balcony, leaning his temple against the railing. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked absentmindedly at the night traffic through the bars of the railing. He didn’t move, as Athos reached him and sat down by his side. He only let out a shuddering breath as Athos took hold of his hand.</p><p>“I know you cannot sleep”, Athos said softly, “but could you come inside and lie down on the sofa? I’ll stay with you the whole time, and we can put the TV on. You’ll be safe.”</p><p>Aramis shook his head, pressing himself against the cold bars of the balcony railing. Athos sighed, but instead of trying to persuade Aramis into coming inside, he began rubbing warmth into Aramis’ knuckles. Athos knew that forcing Aramis to do anything would just make matters worse. Aramis was already fragile, more so than Athos had ever seen him.</p><p>Aramis hadn’t said a word for a month. A gunman had shot up a ski centre where Aramis had gone to spend time with his old classmates, and Aramis was one of the two survivors from their group. Marsac, the man who had managed to call for help, had slipped into coma due to his own injuries. Everyone else – 20 of Aramis’ old classmates – were dead and Aramis had lost his ability to speak.</p><p>“I could put the heating up a little”, Athos suggested.</p><p>Aramis looked up, his eyes wide. His brown eyes, strained from the lack of sleep, searched Athos’ for deception before he nodded slowly. Both men stood up and made their way back into the living room. Athos shut the balcony door and adjusted the thermostat up by a few degrees. He then guided Aramis to lie down and covered him with the warmest blanket he had.</p><p>“So”, Athos said as he sat down on the floor and turned on the TV, “I’ve recorded some nature documentaries about tropical seas. Do you want me to put them on? Or would you prefer some penguins?”</p><p>Aramis looked lost for a moment and then made a waving motion with his hand. “Tropical seas it is, then”, Athos said. “I’ll keep it quiet and put on the subtitles to keep Porthos from waking up.”</p><p>Aramis nodded and gave Athos’ free hand two quick squeezes. <em>Thank you.</em> It was his way of communicating after he’d lost his ability to speak. Athos hoped that one day, Aramis would be able to voice his thoughts again.</p><p>For the rest of the night, Athos and Aramis stayed like that. Athos was sitting on the floor while Aramis lay on the sofa, his eyes glued onto the TV. It was a dance they’d repeated more times than Athos cared to count, a dance to avoid actually sleeping. Every time Aramis closed his eyes, horrid nightmares assaulted him. He would wake up screaming and gasping for air, but no words ever left him.</p><p>That was how Porthos found them in the morning. Huddled together; beaten but alive. Porthos kissed Aramis’ forehead and went in the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. It was Tuesday, and the first class Porthos would teach didn’t start until 10, so they had time to have a little heavier breakfast than usual.</p><p>Aramis stood up and walked over to Porthos who was scrambling some eggs. He placed his head on Porthos’ shoulder and sighed. Athos looked at the two, mesmerised by their way of communication.</p><p>“A bad night?” Porthos asked. When Aramis nodded against his shoulder, Porthos turned around to hug him. “Hey. It’s not your fault. We’ll find a way for you to heal and be able to speak again.”</p><p>Aramis nodded again and Porthos gave his temple a kiss. He then turned his attention back to the eggs and Aramis started gathering dishes for the breakfast table. Aramis made no noise as he moved around, which, in any other situation, would have been kind of cool, since he’d trained himself to move silently, but at that moment it only made Athos sad. It was a symptom of the trauma, the way he tried to make himself invisible and unnoticeable.</p><p>The breakfast was larger than anything Athos had ever had when he’d eaten alone. Porthos liked cooking, especially if he got to cook for his best friend and husband at the same time. Which was why even an everyday breakfast had become such a grand event during the month after the ski centre shooting. They had scrambled eggs, toast, cheese, bacon, and two different kinds of juices as well as coffee. Athos was starting to think that he would never again be hungry, not if Porthos made all his meals.</p><p>“I’ll be supervising the English language club for the kids tonight”, Porthos said as they ate, “which means I won’t be home until six. Will you two manage?”</p><p>Aramis nodded while Athos said, “We will. We’ve got the ingredients for lunch and I’m certain we can manage to feed ourselves. I’ll probably write my column and Aramis has his things, don’t you, Aramis?”</p><p>Aramis nodded. He pressed his palms together and then opened them upwards, like a book. That meant that Aramis was going to read. It had taken them days to create a way for Aramis to communicate with Athos and Porthos without words, but eventually they’d come up with a few dozen signs to use for the most ordinary things. For the rest, Aramis would simply write on a notepad.</p><p>“Tell me tonight if it’s interesting”, Porthos said, smiling fondly. Aramis nodded and continued eating his breakfast.</p><p>Not soon after Porthos had left, Aramis went to fetch his book – <em>A Wizard of Earthsea</em> – and started reading it. He was still on medical leave, and although his physical wounds had already healed for the most part, his emotional scars still needed mending. He couldn’t speak, and he could hardly handle going outside. He would only sleep for the barest minimum amount required, and, even then, he’d wake up screaming in terror.</p><p>Athos gathered his books and laptop and sat down next to Aramis who immediately leaned on him. It was comforting that Aramis still sought hugs and cuddles from other people; the shooting hadn’t taken that away from him. If Athos was being completely honest, that was his favourite part of Aramis.</p><p>“Comfortable?” Athos asked. Aramis nodded and sighed.</p><p>Athos smiled and started reading his book on emotional trauma and the various ways of treating it. It was alarming how little he’d known about treating trauma in reality. There were various cases of trauma explored in the books he had collected on the matter, but none of them included adults who had gone mute after a traumatic event. Only children with selective mutism were present in the books.</p><p>It was frustrating.</p><p>After some hours of reading – during which Aramis had already finished <em>A Wizard of Earthsea</em> and begun <em>The Tombs of Atuan</em> – a study about therapy animals caught Athos’ eye. According to it, there had been multiple positive effects on people who were accompanied by therapy animals, such as dogs. Like Labrador retrievers. Athos read that line over and over again, until it clicked.</p><p>They could get Aramis a therapy animal!</p><p>“Aramis”, Athos said softly, “you like dogs, don’t you?”</p><p>Aramis looked up, raising his eyebrow. He nodded, looking perplexed.</p><p>“I’m reading a study on therapy animals”, Athos explained, “and it occurred to me that we could try to find you a therapy dog. They’re usually Labrador or golden retrievers. Do you think it would be worth a shot?”</p><p>It took Aramis a moment to understand what Athos was saying. When it finally clicked, Aramis’ eyes widened, and he began to nod furiously. For a moment, Athos feared that he would snap his neck with the movement.</p><p>“I don’t know much about them, and we’ll have to ask Porthos if it’s okay with him”, Athos said, “but would you like that? That would mean you’d have to go outside with it, though. Do you think you could do that?”</p><p>Aramis nodded and grabbed his notepad, writing down a message: <em>Great idea – can’t say I don’t feel like it when the dog needs to get out. Could use a daily walk. Porthos would like that.</em></p><p>Athos smiled and squeezed Aramis’ hand. Together they would be able to help Aramis recover.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The black dog had large eyes and its tail was beating the floor. It had taken Athos and Porthos some time to find a suitable therapy animal and, to their joy, a Labrador retriever had just completed its training. Fleur, the dog’s handler, had brought it to meet Aramis for the first time as they had decided that at least one person present should know how to handle the dog. If the meeting went well, the dog would stay with Aramis.</p><p>“This is Hugo”, Fleur said as she unstrapped the dog’s harness and directed the dog’s attention to Aramis, “he’s a very joyful soul. Hugo, look here. This is Aramis; if your personalities are compatible, you’ll become his therapy dog.”</p><p>The dog made its way to Aramis who was kneeling on the floor. After a thorough sniffing, Hugo began licking Aramis’ fingers. Aramis scratched its head and it gave him a few happy barks.</p><p>“That means he likes you”, Fleur said, smiling. “I think we should teach him some wordless orders; I take it you suffer from mutism, Mr. d’Herblay? It would be best if we’d come up with them together; that way they should be easier for you to remember.”</p><p>Aramis nodded eagerly, and so the real work began. Athos and Porthos followed Aramis and Fleur’s work from where they were sitting at the kitchen table while Hugo learnt his new wordless commands. They also helped Hugo to adjust to the new environment and to Aramis’ movements and behaviour during a panic attack.</p><p>After hours of work, it was decided that Hugo should stay, since he seemed to have a great influence on Aramis. Fleur stayed for dinner and she chatted happily with Athos and Porthos while Aramis’ attention was mostly on Hugo. The dog was already providing comfort, resting his head on Aramis’ knee, and allowing Aramis to pet him as the repetitive movement calmed him.</p><p>When Fleur was getting ready to leave, Athos noticed that Aramis had fallen asleep on the sofa and that Hugo was resting next to him. Perhaps the dog could help Aramis with his nightmares as well. Athos hoped it could, seeing how tired Aramis was from stubbornly not sleeping.</p><p>“I’ll help him to bed”, Porthos muttered fondly. He woke Aramis just enough to get him to go through his evening routines and to go to bed for real. Hugo followed him everywhere he went, even deciding to sleep next to him on the bed.</p><p>Athos and Porthos went to bed soon after. Athos stayed awake for some time, still reading about the treatment of trauma survivors. That was his way of taking control of the situation, of helping Aramis. He <em>would</em> find a way to heal his friend.</p><p>After a few hours of sleep, a familiar scream pierced Athos’ consciousness. He shot up and dashed into the guest bedroom to comfort Aramis. Upon arrival, he saw Hugo on Aramis’ chest, pinning him down and grounding him on the moment. Aramis was hugging the dog, seeking comfort from it.</p><p>“It’s alright, Aramis”, Porthos whispered, running his fingers through Aramis’ hair. “It’s alright, my love. You’re safe now.”</p><p>At those words, something broke. Aramis let out a soft sob, and then another. Athos knelt down at Aramis’ side of the bed and placed his hand on Aramis’ shoulder as he cried. Porthos whispered soothing nothings into Aramis’ ear and held his hand. Even Hugo looked sad as Aramis cried. Athos and Porthos could only stay with Aramis, wait for his tears to dry out.</p><p>In his heart, Athos was relieved to see that Aramis could still cry. If he knew anything from the piles of psychology books that he’d read, it was that trauma survivors needed to let out the bad feelings at some point. It was how humans were built; tears cleansed the body from the emotions that a person felt. Athos felt incredibly grateful to see that Aramis’ mental recovery was finally beginning.</p><p>“Porthos is right”, Athos breathed, “you’ll be safe with us. We’re going to protect you.”</p><p>“Yeah”, Porthos agreed, “nothing’ll get through us.”</p><p>Aramis nodded and gave Porthos’ hand two quick squeezes to thank him. Porthos laughed tearfully and kissed Aramis’ knuckles.</p><p>When Aramis eventually calmed down, he looked absolutely miserable. Athos and Porthos shared a look and Porthos helped Aramis to get up while Athos went into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Porthos carried Aramis into the living room and sat down on the sofa, holding Aramis on his lap, and allowing Hugo to jump onto the sofa to be closer to Aramis.</p><p>“That dog really loves you”, Porthos whispered to Aramis, “it was a good idea to take him in.”</p><p>Aramis nodded, and scratched Hugo’s head. The dog’s tail wagged, and it looked like it was smiling.</p><p>Athos soon finished making the hot chocolate and he carried it into the living room on a tray. He placed it on the coffee table and took one cup for himself as he sat down on an armchair. Porthos gave Aramis one mug and took the last one for himself. For a moment, the living room was silent as the trio drank their hot chocolate.</p><p>“Do you think you could come back to bed soon?” Porthos asked softly. His free hand was pressed against Aramis’ chest so he could feel Aramis’ heartbeats and ground him at the same time. Aramis felt surprisingly relaxed under his touch, like he would be falling asleep again.</p><p>Aramis nodded and leaned over to grab Athos’ hand. He squeezed it twice – <em>thank you</em>, it said – and looked deep into Athos’ eyes. It was a sincere look of gratitude, one that Aramis would give others only rarely. After the shooting, it had been even rarer than before since Aramis hadn’t been able to feel much else than dread and anxiety. Athos squeezed his hand back.</p><p>“We’ll get you better”, Athos whispered. He was feeling rather emotional about Aramis that night. “I promise you we will.”</p><p>Aramis nodded again and gave Athos an expression that wasn’t quite a smile, but closer to one that he’d been able to give in weeks.</p><p>“He’s right”, Porthos said, “we are making progress. Now that we have Hugo here with us, I think we’ll be able to do anything. I cannot wait to hear you speak again. I’m missing your voice so much, love.”</p><p>Aramis moved to face Porthos and gave his cheek a kiss. Porthos laughed – Aramis had once said he loved the rumbling noise Porthos’ chest made while he laughed – and pulled Aramis into an embrace.</p><p>Together, they’d be able to do anything.</p><p>Later, as they were sleeping in the guest bedroom, Aramis was holding Porthos for the first time since the shooting at the ski centre. Hugo was at Aramis’ back, and Porthos was holding Aramis’ hand, even though they both were fast asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please tell me what you think! If I'm inspired enough, I might make a series out of this AU!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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